Third time lucky for Ron Davies?

News that former Labour Welsh secretary Ron Davies is considering a political comeback prompts the question: how many chances does a man get in the unforgiving world of politics, writes Helene Mulholland.

Ron Davies, pictured in 2000.Photograph: Barry Batchelor/PA.News that former Labour Welsh secretary Ron Davies is considering a political comeback prompts the question: how many chances does a man get in the unforgiving world of politics?

Davies has twice resigned from political office after successive bouts of speculation about his private life.

Widely seen as a pioneer of devolution, Davies memorably left the Labour cabinet in 1998 after the then married Welsh secretary experienced a "moment of madness" on Clapham Common, a well-known gay cruising area.

He subsequently won an assembly seat for Caerphilly in 1999 but stood down shortly before the next round of assembly elections in 2003 after the Sun revealed he had been visiting a well-known cruising spot near a motorway layby. Mr Davies insisted he was actually badger watching.

Four years on, Mr Davies will make his final decision on whether to stand as a candidate in May's Welsh assembly election in his old assembly constituency "within a couple of weeks".

Second chances appear to work for able politicians ousted because of misjudgments , but what about third ones?

While ordinary humans use their own moments of madness as a learning curve and put it quietly behind them, those in the public eye are never allowed to forget theirs by opponents and the media, as this blog testifies.

Still, reinvention is possible if you have friends in high places.

The flamboyant New Labour stalwart Peter Mandelson got a third break courtesy of his good friend Tony Blair after being forced out of cabinet on two occasions.

The first time was over a £373,00 home loan and the second time was due to unfounded allegations that he used his influence to speed up a passport application for a billionaire businessman.

As EU trade commissioner, Mandelson is now one of the most powerful men on the continent, earning a vastly superior salary to most of his former cabinet colleagues.

We hear from him occasionally, but with the British media's collective disinterest in EU matters, it's probable the media-savvy Mandelson misses the attentions of the British press and the clout he wielded in New Labour.

However, some would say it's a small price to pay for high office.

David Blunkett also knows the sobering experience of joining the cabinet, quitting, being appointed again, and then having to quit a second time.

Blunkett, also highly esteemed by his friend Tony Blair, has no doubt blown his chances of a third chance saloon by publishing his no-holds barred diary tapes while the government he had so ably served was still in power.

So what about Ron Davies, who has been out of elected office since quitting the assembly four years ago?

He first needs to persuade the Forward Wales party that he is a safe bet. With only 200 members, that shouldn't be too hard.

Mr Davies launched the party in 2003 after quitting Labour, citing Iraq as his reason, alongside John Marek, who was deselected by Labour and currently holds the only assembly seat for the left-of-centre FW party.

The trickier feat for Mr Davies will be to persuade Caerphilly voters he and his minority party are worth voting for.

Should an able politician be denied a third chance because of alleged personal indiscretions?